This invention relates generally to vehicle parking brake actuators and, more particularly, to apparatus and method of assembling an operating device to a parking brake release member.
Foot-operated parking brake actuators are frequently provided in vehicles for applying the parking brake. These actuators have a foot-operated pedal lever which has a sector that is engaged by a locking pawl to retain the parking brake in applied position. A manually-operated release handle is provided to operate a release mechanism to disengage the pawl from the sector to release the parking brake.
If a clear linear path is available, the release handle is connected to the release mechanism by a rod which is mounted for sliding movement in the vehicle structure, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,333 to Scott et al. In some vehicles, this handle is mounted on a bracket below the vehicle's instrument panel. In other vehicles, the handle extends through a fitting in the face of the instrument panel.
If a clear linear path is unavailable, the handle is connected to the release mechanism by a Bowden cable comprising a wire sliding within a fixed-length sheath. In some of these vehicles, the vehicle design makes it difficult to connect the handle to the release mechanism after the instrument panel is installed. To simplify this connection, the handle is pre-installed in the instrument panel and the cable is connected to the release mechanism before the instrument panel is installed to vehicle supporting structure.
The use of an elongated Bowden cable is required to enable this pre-installation, since the instrument panel is initially located away from the supporting structure when the cable is installed. The cable is supplied in looped form. One wire end is connected to the handle and that sheath end is attached to the instrument panel. Next, the instrument panel is moved toward the support and the cable is stretched, tightening the loop, to enable attachment of the other cable end to the parking brake actuator. The other wire end is attached to the release lever and the sheath end is mounted on the actuator structure. The instrument panel is then installed by mounting on the supporting structure. The cable then resumes its enlarged 360.degree. loop to accommodate the decreased distance between the operating handle and the parking brake actuator.
Since the cable comprises a wire sliding within a sheath, this looping of the cable dramatically decreases its mechanical efficiency. This results in a corresponding increase in the manual effort required to operate the release mechanism. In one such vehicle application, the manual effort required to release the parking brake doubles from 20.pi. to 40#.
With this elongated Bowden cable connecting arrangement, any removal of the instrument panel requires that one end of the cable be disconnected before the instrument panel can be completely removed. This involves disconnecting both the wire and the sheath at either the handle end or the actuator end.
It would be desirable to provide a connecting device for operatively connecting a parking brake release mechanism to an operating handle, that is pre-installed in an instrument panel which is subsequently installed to vehicle structure, which is operable to release the parking brake without increased manual force.
It would also be desirable to provide such a connecting device which is simpler to connect and to disconnect.